Wednesday, August 7, 2013

I always love a good sci-fi film, and although Joseph Kosinski's Oblivion from earlier this year was a bit of a disappointment by rehashing a lot of familiar plot lines and tropes from the genre (and don't even get me started on the director's Tron: Legacy), I did like the cinematography, art direction and costume design in the movie.

Original costume worn by Tom Cruise

as Jack Harper in Oblivion

Here's the cool costume worn by Tom Cruise on display at Universal Studios Hollywood on July 30, 2013, which was designed by Marlene Stewart. You can also see her fantastic costumes in Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, also from earlier this year.

Oblivion movie poster

In the movie, Tom Cruise plays 'Jack' a veteran security and drone repairman, 'Tech 49', assigned to a ravaged Earth after a decades long war with the 'Scavs' alien race. With his Tower 49 partner 'Victoria "Vika"Olsen' (played by Andrea Riseborough), they oversee the extraction of the world's remaining resources until a crashed spacecraft and its contents cause him to question his mission and his very existence.

Jack 'Tech 49' Harper costume detail from Oblivion

I loved seeing his costume up close and the detail of the futuristic outfit, although in the movie the costume looks a much lighter shade of grey. Plus it's hard to see but in the top right-hand of his chest you can see the Tech '49' numbering, which is essential to the plot of this post-apocalyptic story.

Original hero fuel cell bomb prop from Oblivion

Jack eventually discovers his life is an illusion and he's one of an army of clones, actually helping the very extra-terrestrial force that decimated the Earth. Ultimately with the aid of 'Malcolm Beech's' (Morgan Freeman) human resistance, Jack is able to smuggle this fuel cell nuclear bomb on to the orbiting 'Tet' (tetrahedral) space station, which houses the oppressive alien artificial intelligence, detonating the device and saving humanity.